What Exactly Did Obama and John Roberts ‘Inscribe’ in the MLK Bible After Monday’s Inauguration?

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During Monday’s inauguration, President Barack Obama placed his hand upon two Bibles — one that belonged to Martin Luther King Jr. and the other to Abraham Lincoln. Following the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts, at the request of King’s family, “inscribed” the civil rights hero’s copy of the Bible.

While this action has been reported by a number of outlets, what isn’t being discussed is what, exactly, was included in the messages they placed inside of the book. Considering that an inscription is completed when one writes, prints, carves, or engraves, the assumption here is that Obama and Roberts placed their signatures — and possibly some accompanying words — inside of the historical book.

Photo Credit: AP

“I had the great privilege that the Bible we used was his Bible and they asked for it to be inscribed,” Obama said following the event, but he offered little information surrounding what he wrote.

A Politico story that was published on Monday evening claims that the King family asked the president and Supreme Court justice to “sign” the book, but that a public official who disclosed the decision did not say what was written along with the signatures. A separate report by The Hill confirmed that Obama and Roberts signed the Bible.